Member of the Month: Brian Stauber
Every month, NASAGA highlights one of its members who is doing fantastic things. February’s Member of the Month is Brian Stauber, NBC-HWC, at Stauber Coaching. You can also view his ongoing projects at itch.io.
What kind of work do you do?
I like to think about myself as a mutli-disciplinary professional with the goal of fostering self-understanding and connection in the world. Originally, my work was focused on supporting mission-driven professionals with burnout and supporting their organization in creating more sustainable and effective work environments. I have more recently been supporting job seekers with career coaching, facilitating workshops, and designing creative and thought-provoking experiences to create safe spaces for teams to learn and practice critical interpersonal skills.
In addition to this, I am a Dungeon-Master-for-hire and have run games for individuals, summer camps, and in convention spaces. I design games ranging from “Serious Play” to “Absurd Play.” I am also a trained improv actor and massive nerd, which informs so much of the work I do!
Why are you a NASAGA member?
Short answer: NASAGA makes me feel like I'm not alone in my crazy niches! Long answer: Being a NASAGA member connects me with other professionals who are not only passionate about using games to make positive change in the world, but who are also down to get into the weeds about how specific mechanics improve the effectiveness of such endeavours. As far as professional organizations go, the NASAGA membership fee goes a long way in helping me find the exact right people with which to be collaborating.
What’s your favorite NASAGA memory?
2025 was my first conference, but I have to say standing back and watching my colleagues play my game, Puzzling Personas, in the most intense way possible. The immediate buy-in and willingness to lean into their assigned roles was such a delight and made me feel like I truly nailed the experience I was looking to create through the game.
NASAGA’s theme for the 2026 Conference is “Sustaining Human Connection through Play in the Digital Age.” What does “Sustaining Human Connection” look like in your space?
So much of my work is focused on creating points of human connection - the moment where you truly understand another person, whether they are on the other side of the table or the developer behind your new favorite game. I recently attended MAGfest - a convention focused on music and gaming. From a pack of people running around with the 90's game Crossfire and belting out the commercial jingle, to musicians meeting for the first time to play the soundtrack to Yoshi's Island, to hundreds of people dressed up like characters from Clair Obscur, it was clear that even individual digital experiences can create potent in-person experiences once the proper space is created.
Even in the coaching space, there is a drive from tech advocates to rely on Large Language Models for psycho-social education, companionship, and peer support. I think as there is more pressure to isolate oneself with pure technology, we must be purposeful in creating experiences to serve as a counterbalance of connection between actual humans.
